Agitator for oil-wells.



PATBNTED .MAY 5, 1903.

B. GAHGAN.

AGITATR FOR OIL WELLS. APPLI-oATioN FILED APE. 29, 1902.

NO MODEL.

atented May 1903;

ARTHUR BLOYD GAHAGAN, OF GLADE MILLS, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN A. HUGHES, OF GLADE MILLS, PENNSYLVANIA.

AGITATORFOR OIL-WELLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 726,899, dated May 5, 1903.

Application filed April 29, 1902. Serial No. 105,191. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, ARTHUR BLoYD GAHA- GAN, a resident of Glade Mills, in the county of Butler and State ofPennsylvania,` have invented a new and useful Improvement in Agitators for Oil-Wells; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to agitators or oil-sand iiooders for oil-wells,'and has special reference to a fitting or attachment which is connected to the ordinary construction of Ysuction-pipes in oil-wells. Y

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, cheap, and effective device to be applied below the working barrel of the suctionpipe of an oil-well, so'as to prevent the eX- haustion of the oil-supply and the consequent action of the air upon the oil-bearing strata of sand, which 'causes a thickening of the oil, thereby clogging the strata and seriously di.- minishing the pumping capacity thereof.

My invention consists, generally stated, in the novel arrangement, construction, and combination of parts, as hereinafter more specifically set forth and described, and parv Yof the chamber 9 is provided with a screwticularly pointed out in the claims.

To enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to construct and use my improved oil-well agitator, I will describe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved oil-well agitator with the same applied to the working barrel and showing some of the parts in section. Fig. 2 is a vertical centralsection thereof, showing the parts in position for spraying. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a cross-section on the line 4 4, Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is a detail section of a portion of the agitator with the working valve removed.

Like symbols of reference herein indicate like parts in each of the figures of the drawings.

As illustrated in the drawings, 1 designates the shell or coupling containing th'e sprayer or agitating mechanism A, and this coupling 1 is provided at its upper end with the enlargement 2, having the interior threads 3 therein, to which is connected by threads 4 the suction-pipe 5, forming the working bar- .rel of the pumping mechanism B. 4Thelower end of the coupling l is provided with the ordinary foot or stand Valve 6, which is supported within such coupling 1 by the valveseatV 6', formed in a coupling ring or sleeve '7, to which are connected the lower end of the coupling 1 and the upperend of the anchor l".Y The stand-valve 6 is Supportedwithin 6oV the Valve-seat 6 by means of the leather disks 6 on the valve 6 engaging with the seat 6', while a ball 8 is adapted to' rest upon a seat 8 inthe valve 6 and is adapted to be held and moved with a cage 8", connected to and 65 `and to the sides of the `coupling 1, while eX- tending through the outer sidewall 9', adjacent to the upper wall lO, are the jets or openings 1l for communicating with the chamber 9 to spray the oil. The upperface or wall 10 plug. 13, tting therein-and provided with a bolt-head 13 at its upper end, while its lower 8o end is provided with :the ...concave seat 14 therein for the" ball-valve 15, which is also adapted to engage with the valve-seat 16, formed at the upper end of a vertical portion 17 of a passage-way 17, .which connects with 85 a horizontal portion 18of said passageway 17, leading from the interior of the coupling 1, and both of these portions 17 and 18 being preferably formed as part of the coupling 1 and within the chamber 9. p 9o Fitting within the casing 1 is the sleeve 19, which is adapted to be moved and is-held within the coupling 1 by means of screwthreads 19 thereon, while its'lower end20 is provided with the inclined face 20 in order 95 to engage with the inclined face or seat 20, formed in the interior of the coupling 1 below the pasage-way 18. Fitting within the enlargement'2 on the coupling 1 is the liner or ring 21, which is adapted to be held beloo tween the lower end 5 of the suction-pipe 5 and a plug 2', connected to the enlargement 2, while a packing 21^ is placed in a seat 21", formed in the coupling 1 around said sleeve 19 and between the plug 2 and the threads 19. The ring 21 is provided with a series of prongs or projections 22 thereon for fitting within seats 23, formed in the interior face 19 and at the upper end 21 of the sleeve 19 to permit of the easy withdrawal of the working valve mechanism 24, hereinafter described, from said sleeve to perform the pumping operation. Vithin the suction-pipe 5 of the working barrel is the ordinary workingvalve mechanism 24, having the Working valve 25, located therein and held in place by a cage 26, so as to engage with a valve-seat 27, and below the seat 27 is the working-valve bottom 28, which is provided with the leather cups 29 around the same for engaging with the interior face of the suction-pipe 5 and sleeve 19, while a rod 30 is adapted to be secured onto the top 26 of the case 26 to raise and lower the working-valve mechanism 24 and operate the agitating mechanism A.

The use and operation of my improved agitator for oil-wells are as follows: Under ordinary conditions the diameter of oil-wells varies from five to six and one-fourth inches, and it is therefore necessary that any agitator connections must be contained within the smallest possible space, so as to be inserted in the well and operate therein without interfering with the operation of the other parts or preventing the withdrawal of the tubing when it becomes necessary, so that when myimproved agitatoris lowered through the tubing of the well by the connection of the same to the suction-pipe 5 on the working barrel and the anchor 1 on the coupling 1 reaches the oil the parts are in condition and position for operation, when the workingvalve mechanism 24 is lowered by the rod 30 to the position shown in Fig. 2. When the parts are in this position and it is desiredto spray the oil, all that is necessary is to turn the rod 30 by means of a Wrench at its top, which will cause the working-valve mechanism 24 to be turned, and With it the sleeve 19, by means of the leather cups 29 on the working-valve bottom 28 engaging with the interior face of the sleeve 19 and the sleeve 19 engaging with the coupling 1 by the screwthreads 19'. As the sleeve 19 is thus turned by the valve mechanism 24 a sufficient distance to raise the sleeve 19 by the threads 19 the inclined face 20 on the lower end 20 of the sleeve 19 will unseat itself from the inthe oil has passed through the stand-Valve 6 into the coupling 1 a portion of the same will pass from said coupling 1 through the portion 18 of the passage-Way 17 up through the portion 17 of said passage-way 17, and raise the ball-valve 15 from its seat 16, so that the oil can enter the receiving-chamber 9 and pass out through the sprayer-openings 1l against the sides of the well, while a portion of such oil will pass up through the bottom 28 to raise the valve 25, so that the same can pass out through the cage 26 and escape out through the pipe 5 of the working barrel, the weight of the oil above the valve mechanism 24 enabling the oil to be forced out through the openings 11 in the downward movement of the mechanism 24.

After the well has been su fiiciently sprayed or agitated and it is desired to close off the spraying of the oil for the pumping operation all that is necessary is to lower the working-valve mechanism 24 by the rod 30 from the pipe 5 into the sleeve 19 and turn the valve mechanism 24 in the opposite direction by means of a wrench at the top of the rod 30, which will cause the sleeve 19 to move with the mechanism 24 and move downward by means of the threads 19 engaging therewith and with the coupling 1, so as to seat the inclined face 20 on the lower end 20 of said sleeve 19 against the seat 20in the couplingl, thereby preventing the oil in the coupling 1 from entering the passage-way 17 in said coupling and at the same time permitting the valve 15 to seat itself on its seat 16 over the passage-way 17 and prevent the entrance of air into the coupling 1 through the openings 11 and passage-way 17, after which the ordinary pumping operation can be continued by the stand-valve 6 and working valve 24 by raising the mechanism 24 up within the pipe 5 of the working barrel. It will also be evident that the anchor is used below the standvalve on the coupling only when it is desired to reach the oil within the Well, and various other modifications and changes in the parts of my improved agitator for oil-wells and in the working barrel to which it is connected, as well asin the working-valve mechanism for operating the same, may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. 1n an agitator for oil-wells, the combination with the working barrel, of a coupling connected to said working barrel and having a receiving-chamber surrounding the same provided with sprayer-j ets leading therefrom, said coupling having a valve-controlled passage-way therein communicating with said receiving-chamber, and revoluble means for opening and closing said passage-way.

2. In an agitator for oil-wel1s,.the combination with the working barrel, of a coupling connected to said Working barrel and having a receiving-chamber surrounding the same IOO IIC

provided with sprayer-jets leading therefrom said coupling having a valve-controlled'passage-way therein communicating with said receiving-chamber,and revoluble means within said coupling for opening and closing said passage-way.

3. In an agitatorforoil-wells, the combination with the working barrel, of a coupling connected to said working barrel and having a receiving-chamber surrounding the same provided with sprayer-j ets leading therefrom, said coupling having a valve-controlled passage-way therein communicating with said receiving-chamber and provided with a seat below the same, and a revoluble sleeve within said coupling adapted to close and open said passage-way by the engaging and disenaging of the same with said seat. y

4. In an agitator for oil-wells, the combination with the working barrel, of a coupling connected to said Working barrel and having a receiving-chamber surrounding the same provided with sprayer-jets leading therefrom, said coupling having a valve-controlled passage-way therein communicating with said receiving-chamber and provided with a seat below the same, a sleeve connected to said coupling and adapted to Vengage with said seat, and means for turning said sleeve Within said casing to engage and disengage said seat to close and open said passage-way.

5. In an agitator for oil-wells, the combination with the working barrel, of a coupling connected to said workin'gbarrel and havinga receiving-chamber surrounding the same provided with sprayer-jets leading therefrom, said coupling having a valve-controlled pas-` sage-way therein communicating with said receiving-chamber and provided with a seat below the same, a sleeve engaging by screwthreads with said coupling and adapted to engage with said seat, and means for turning said sleeve within said coupling and threads to engage and disengage said seat to close and open said passage-Way.

6. In an agitator for oil-wells, the combination with the Working barrel provided with' the working-valve mechanism therein, of a coupling connected to said working barrel `valve mechanism sage-way,*and a ring between said working` and having a receiving-chamber around the same provided with sprayerjets-leading therefrom, said coupling having a valve-controlled passage-way therein communicating with said receiving-chamber, a sleeve within said coupling adapted to be engaged by said working-valve mechanism to'open and close said passage-way, and means at the top'of said sleeve for permitting the easy with-V drawal of the working-valve mechanism from said'sleeve.

'7. In an agitator for oil-wells, the combination with the working barrel provided with the working-valve mechanism therein, of a coupling connected tosaid working barrel and having a receiving-chamber around the same provided with sprayer -jets leading therefrom, said coupling having a valve-controlled passage-way therein communicating with said receiving-chamber, a sleeve within said coupling adapted to be engaged by the working-valve mechanism to open and close vsaid passage-way, and means between said Workin g barrel and top of said sleeve for permitting the easy withdrawal of the workingvalve mechanism from said sleeve.

` 8. In an agitator for oil-Wells, the combination with the working barrel having the work- -ing-valve-mechanism therein, ofa coupling connected to said working barrel and having r a receiving-chamber around the same provided With sprayer-jets leading therefrom,

said coupling having'a valve-controlled pas- A sage-way thereincommunicating with said receiving-chamber, a sleeve within said coupling adapted to to open and close said pasbarrel and coupling having projections thereon adapted to it within seats in the interior of said sleeve to permit the easy withdrawal be engaged by the Workingof the workinglvalve mechanism from said Y sleeve.

In testimony whereof I, thesaid ARTHUR B. GAHAGAN, have hereuntoset my hand. ARTHUR BLOYD GAHAGAN.

Witnesses:

J. N'. COOKE, L. T. MARKS. 

